Pas close up, laying the hammer down
The british rafting teams have been together for over three years competing in the last two World Championships in Ecuador (2005) and Korea (2007). This was to be their first European Championships and hopes were high as the teams travelled to Austria to compete against the best in Europe. The competition was held Wildalpen which is situated in Central Austria 2 hours from Vienna, it is a small mountain village with a population of 500 people, Raft Racing has been in the village since the 1970's, with commercial trips being run on this section of river. It is a snow melt river with crystal clear drinkable waters.
Raft racing competitions are split into four categories, a time trial, a head to head sprint, a slalom and an endurance with medals being awarded for each discipline and points going forward to crown the overall champion. This week saw two types of competition the 4-person (R4) and 6-person (R6) events being held at the same venue for the first time, this meant it was going to be a long week for the teams with five days of competition ahead of them.
On the first day of competition, both teams made a good start in the R4 event placing highly in the time trials, the ladies medaling in 3rd, the boys however missed out by .09 of a second coming in 4th! The ladies were off first in the evening head to head finals on one of the fairest sprint courses seen at recent championships. They showed there potential by cruising through the early rounds against the Hungarian and Danish teams. They then faced the Czech Republic girls, the home of Raft Racing, in the semi finals. After trailing into the first drop, the girls regained the head of the race by taking a sneaky line in the rapid and over powering the Czech Ladies as the boats clashed above the drop. This left them cruising for the line and into the finals to met the Slovakians. The girls started on the slower of the lanes but with all the hype of the previous rounds they managed to fight there way to the head of the race and lead into the rapid and to the line for Britains first ever European title.
The girls as a six flying down the sprint course
The floodlights came on for the mens finals as they faced the flat water racing Hungarian team in the first round, after a fierce coming together from the start the men managed to power ahead and hold on, pulling away to the finish line. After styling their way past the Italians the boys managed to hold off the same sneak line move, the girls had used, from the Czech men, proving too powerful they took the side hit but came out on top into the drop and down the rest of the rapid. On the walk back up to the top the mens fanbase had increased in size as the crowd were willing them on to 'kapow' the Russians. The gun went and they were off, surging ahead after a brief coming together and away for Britains second ever European title, all be it two hours after the first! The time was about 10:30 now and the beer tent was beginning to fill as the teams changed into something a little warmer ready for tea and medals! They entered the tent to a standing ovation as the rafting heavyweights acknowledged what had been achieved. A moment that all of them will remember for a very long time. Then it was time for a sing-a-long to the National Anthem as both teams took to the top of the podium.
The boys with their medals, Sprint Champions of Europe
With the added pressure of leading the R4 competition as they headed into the next two events, the teams had the advantage, choosing the fast lanes for the endurance race and leading the field down the sprint section and onto 15km of pain! The ladies looked strong, keeping the lead for the early part of the race, surrendering it when the Slovakian ladies, cruised past and off into the distance, the ladies held off a determined effort from the Czech team to take the silver medal. The boys were involved in an epic race with all 13 teams never more than a couple of metres apart, after dropping down the field they managed to claw there way back up, parking in front of the Germans on a tight corner then opening up to pass the Austrians and back up into 5th.
The start of the endurance race, le mans style
A glorious view of the mens endurance, the opening stages down the sprint site
The girls holding off the challenge of the Slovakian girls
The slalom course involved a nasty cross over a big hole, a tricky gate 10 made sure you had to cross the hole! The ladies were up first and after a strong smooth run were disappointed to find themselves down the rankings as unsportingly teams opted missing a gate to stay out of the hole. The ladies grouped together and changed the plan and another strong run took them into 3rd. The boys had two solid rides with big crosses over the hole, their second run was the quicker but with one touch they finished in 8th place.
The girls in deep discussion trying to amend the errors of the first slalom run
The girls body popping on the trickiest gate of the slalom course
The overall results for the R4 competition, the ladies after medaling in nearly every round ending in 2nd place and the boys held on for 3rd. An awesome result for both teams as once again they took to the podium along with the big names of raft racing in there first R4 competitions.
The R6 competition then begun, the teams were on a mental high after the R4 competition, but drained from three days hard work, most of the bigger nations had different teams competing in the different classes showing the scale of raft racing in Eastern Europe. The highlights included the ladies almighty battle with the Netherlands in the head to head quarter finals, the girls fought from top to bottom even having the dutchies sideways at one point but just couldn't pass before the line. The boys had one of there best slalom runs ever being super tight and fast across the hole finishing in 5th. The girls showed good strenght on their endurance race starting from near the back of the pod, they managed to fly past Europe's elite to medal in 3rd! The overall results left the girls in 4th place and the boys in 9th, two very strong results as these teams progress up the rankings.
The mens 6 in between gates on the slalom course
The girls lining up a down on the flatter part of the slalom course
The teams are unfunded in their quest for world domination so unfortunately struggle to compete internationally more than once a year. They raise money to help cover costs by holding raft racing days yearly and are supported for team kit and clothing by some great local companies. The teams would like to thank Peak UK, Reed, Run and Jump Clothing, Major Sporty, Current Trends UK Ltd. and the National Watersports Centre. If you would like to know more about the teams or raft racing visit www.britishraftteam.co.uk
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